Construction Associate 2-6PQE - Manchester/ Sheffield

Our construction and engineering team advises clients across a wide variety of sectors and has significant expertise in large, complex development and urban regeneration projects; operations and facilities management; infrastructure and energy projects; and education and healthcare. Our team is top ranked in both Chambers and the Legal 500 and many of our team are recognised as leaders in their field. No firm has more lawyers listed for England in Who's Who Legal - Construction than CMS!

About us
CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 70 offices in over 40 countries and 5,000+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective. We are passionate about building strong relationships with our clients, our people, and the communities we work in.
We take a bold, dynamic, and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by emerging technologies such as generative AI and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of working. Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.

About the role

We are an ambitious, highly-regarded and friendly team that has undergone significant growth in recent years. This is a great opportunity to work as part of - and to take a leading role in the development of - our growing Northern team, often working closely with our wider team in other offices, advising clients on all types of construction projects including commercial, retail, energy, urban regeneration and infrastructure.
Our work is client facing, varied, fast-paced and challenging across a wide variety of sectors working with developers, major institutional investors, public sector and education bodies, contractors, and lenders across the UK and internationally.
In this role, you can expect to get involved in a variety of work including:
* working as part of a team to provide first class, professional non-contentious construction advice for clients in a wide range of fields;
* working closely with our clients and their professional consultants when drafting and negotiating construction contracts, professional team appointments, guarantees and bonds, collateral warranties and a range of ancillary documents;
* advising on a range of procurement routes and the use of standard form contracts such as NEC, JCT, FIDIC and IChemE as well as bespoke agreements;
* writing articles and presenting at internal and external seminars; and
* taking part in a range of business development activities to help further develop the practice across Manchester/ Sheffield.

About you
We will invest in your ongoing training and development to support your professional goals and help you to thrive in your role from day one. Our opportunities are open to all suitably qualified applicants, so to be considered for this role, you must meet the following skills and experience:
* be admitted as a lawyer to the Law Society of England & Wales, with a minimum of 2PQE;
* have good experience of, and an interest in construction and infrastructure projects;
* be hard working, enjoy a challenge and be happy to work as part of the team to meet deadlines;
* be well-organised and proactive;
* have excellent attention to detail;
* have good written and oral communication skills; and
* have ambition and drive to help further grow our business and attend business development events to start building their own network.

What's in it for you?
We want to reward you today and help you plan for tomorrow. We appreciate that everyone is different, therefore we have designed a benefits system that offers choice and flexibility based on individual needs and lifestyles. To name just a few, these include:
* Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)
* Flexible, hybrid working policy
* Generous bonus scheme
* Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)
* Holiday exchange scheme
* Private medical insurance
* Enhanced parental leave

If you would like to read more information regarding our range of benefits please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

Equal opportunities
At CMS, we place diversity and inclusion at the centre of our culture and at the heart of our organisation. Not only does it make our firm a more rewarding place to work, but it also creates a stronger, more successful, and sustainable business where everyone feels comfortable and welcome.
We are a Disability Confident Employer, and we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity as well as recruiting, retaining, and developing disabled talent at CMS. If you have a disability, or if you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact Ruth Kavanagh at who will be happy to support you.

Ready to apply? Here are the next steps.
We look forward to receiving your application online via our CMS careers site. Please contact our Talent Acquisition team if you have any questions.
Please note that we have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.
Internal applicants only:
Please apply using the 'Apply for Job' button where you will be taken straight to our application portal. If you have any technical issues with your application, please contact our HR Systems team. For a confidential discussion regarding this or any other internally advertised position please speak to your Talent Acquisition Advisor.

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